The Lighthouse Keeper
by Lightningthesky
Summary: It's the little things the blonde does that aggravates her, like running off after saving her life without even bothering to tell her name.


_Disclaimer: I gain nothing but experience while writing this story; Disney owns Frozen._

_A/N: I'm about to graduate, starting to think my mom's almost realizing I'm lesbian (ha, she's late to the party), and about a month overdue on updating my other frozen fic, Guarded, so what do I do? I write a new chapter to a story that's been floating around in my head for a few days. Promise I'm not abandoning Guarded, I just needed to get this out of my head._

_Any feedback is and will always be appreciated._

_Enjoy :3_

* * *

Anna tilts her head back, daring the looming clouds overhead to ruin her day as a laugh escapes her. They swirl angrily above, wisps lagging behind the larger, darker clouds, but she ignores them easily. It's the first time they are allowed to venture from their cabins and to the deck above; the storms have been following them mercilessly for and turning the boat every which way, spewing water onto the boat that worms its way through every crack and crevice.

Quite frankly, she is tired of it.

The boat reeks of mold, and every step is laden with water, soaking through her shoes and targeting her socks next. She had started to contemplate cutting off her own feet if that meant not having to hear that squish and squash of her steps. She decides not to, because really, she needs them when it all comes down to it.

Being on a boat makes her nervous; her skin is tingly, and she's always swiping at her arms at the sensation of something crawling on her. She takes to following the captain around, asking, _pleading_, if there's anything she can do; anything to get her mind off what could happen-

_The boat could be capsized with one monumental wave, or I could slip off the boat and become the next tasty snack for some shark. A giant kraken could break from the waves and that'll be it; we'd be screwed, because what the hell can I do about a kraken?_

_That wouldn't really happen, would it?_

_Maybe the ship will hit an iceberg and we'll start sinking. ._

_I should have _never _watched Titanic before going on this trip._

-The crew throws glances her way every now and then, but shrug it off, because she's at least trying to help. Or it could be that they're due to land tonight, and she is out of their hair.

_Whatever._

She turns her attention away from the clouds hanging above and her gaze settles on the sparkling waters. The sun is starting to set and is setting the waters ablaze; everywhere she turns, there it is, gleaming in all its beauty. She can't see any land from her position, but it's entertaining to imagine that in just a second she'll see it and be reunited with her only family.

Well, her only _living_ family.

Her parents had been just going on a business trip-

_Her father reaches down to pat her head as she clings to his leg, "Anna really, it's just a short trip; we'll be back before you know it!"_

-and never returned, because it's hard to survive when your boat flips in the middle of a hurricane. The startings of a hurricane had been reported, but they thought they could beat it.

She huffs, _score one for mother nature_.

Sometimes, never on purpose, she starts to visualize it; did they think of their children in their last moments, or did they just hold each other as they realized what was happening? Were they even together? She could see it, them separated by waves that threw them back and forth, further and further away from each other. Water filling their lungs; her parents had never been that great at swimming, from what she could recall.

Which wasn't that much these days.

She shakes her head, hopes to unlodge the thoughts that take root in her mind. She wonders if Kristoff has these problems; they've always avoided the topic of their parents on their long distance calls, because it costs too much money to just listen to your sibling cry over the phone.

After their parents death, they were thrown into the system; they stayed together as long as they could, but eventually, they were separated. They managed to stay in touch, because life's hard enough with people in it, and she didn't want to find out how bad it was while being alone.

She's excited to see him again.

She had promised to visit him after finishing college in Corona, but then she kept grasping for reasons not to go. It wasn't like she didn't want to see her brother, but Arendelle was basically a island, and in order to get to an island, she has to take a freaking boat.

_And here I am, in the middle of winter on a boat with weird boat-people who smell odd._

She shifts from one foot to the other, synchronizing with the rocking boat. The boat continues to plow onward, slipping through the waters that lash at its hull. She stays out there for what feels like hours, until the sun has long since set.

A shout lands on deaf ears as she continues to look at the expanse of the ocean.

The lifejacket thrown at her shocks her, and she claws at it, trying to purchase on the slippery material to rip it off.

"Quit playing around Red and put that on!"

She jerks head towards the sound as she shoves her arms through the holes of the jacket; her hands are sluggish, clumsily swiping over the buckles before slipping them together with a satisfying click.

"My name is Anna!"

Hands settle on her shoulders with the force of a ton of bricks, and a squeak escapes her as she's forced to meet the scarred face of the captain.

His eye's are almost black, and it takes her a minute to realize it's because his pupils are blown; her mind scrambles for causes of dilation and reasons it may be because of fear.

He takes her chin and directs it to the side, "That's where we're headed, yeah?" She nods, and he tilts her head upwards, "See that?"

The clouds catch her eyes first. They're dark, and she glances back to the captain's eyes; _yep, match his eyes now_. They just float along, contrasting the ominous shade that colors them. She can see the rain falling from here; it's a sheet of water.

She sighs, knowing she's going to be drenched after this.

Lightning flashes across her eyes, disappearing before she's sure if she even saw it; the accompanying thunder sounding a few moments after.

_Oh._

The captain's shouting orders to the crew and gives her a pointed look, "Go under the deck. We have to go through it, running out of supplies."

She nods and ignores the shove that sends her towards the stairs after pinwheeling her arms for balance.

She's starting to regret going for the cheaper option of transportation. _But nooo, Kristoff said it'd be fine and not to worry._

Her hands find their way into her hair, scrunching up fiery strands and pulling, hoping to ground herself. Why did she do this to herself? She could have stayed home, with Rapunzel and Merida and all her friends; she's so stupid it hurts that she gave up all that. She had stability and just finished college; maybe could've got a nice job.

Now she is going to die.

Her brother will be devastated, and she would be too if she would have the ability to feel after death; he will be left alone, because a dog isn't enough company for someone. He will probably hole himself up in his house in all his antisocial glory and waste away, and it will be her fault.

She doesn't realize she's crying until tears start to drop on her arms.

She's cornered in her room, knees digging into her chest as her arms wrap around them. The ship is being hurled side to side, and saliva starts to gather in her mouth; she's fairly sure that's an impending sign of vomiting. She glances towards the small, round window in her captain and sees water flinging itself at the glass.

She pushes herself off the ground to get a closer look, pressing her face up against it. She has been sitting there longer than she had thought, because they hadn't been in the middle of the storm.

Now they are.

There are shouts and yells and _screams _above her.

She fidgets as she recalls the sharp glare the captain had sent her way, but she's human, and so are they. She can't just sit in her cabin while people need help; she may not be much of a help, but there's no harm in trying.

_Actually there is; there is a _big_ harm in trying._

She scrambles up, leaning on the wall as the boat tilts. She crawls up the stairs on all fours; water splashes in her face as she slams her palms down.

Wind slaps her in the face as soon as she emerges from the cabins and onto the deck, carrying harsh droplets of cold that seep into her clothing.

She can't recognize anyone, knowing only that they all seem to be in a panic. Granted, she can't blame them.

The wind flings hair and water in her face, and she prys her soaked her from her vision, only for the rain to block out everything a few feet ahead of her.

A particularly violent wave pitches her across deck, and she crashes into the railing that helps prevent people like herself from falling overboard. She looks over her shoulder into the water below and sees shapes that look eerily similar to humans. _Maybe the railing's not doing _

_the best of jobs today._

She wants to cry; she would if that hit hadn't knocked the air out of her lungs. She pushes off the railing, stumbling through the rain and wind and the darkness that threatens to choke her.

Another wave pulls her off her feet as it spills across the deck, and her head impacts the deck with a crack. She briefly wonders how she can identify the black spots dancing across her vision when it's already so dark outside.

"I can't see anything, Captain!"

"Look for the damn spotlight!"

She doesn't hear the rest as the ship lurches forward before propelling backward, pulling the surface underneath her feet out from under her. The railing meets her stomach, and before she can quite process what's going on, she's falling.

She hears more shouting before the waves wash over her head, and the sounds become garbled as she's surrounded in pitch black. She fights her way to the surface, coaching herself to prevent an advancing meltdown.

_Just kick; yep there we go._

_Ew, no lets not drink seawater; I don't think that's good for my health._

She kicks her feet and they break the surface of the water, _on my back now, because floating's good right now._

She holds her breath and squeezes her eyes shut as the surf threatens to flip her body over. She knows her head and stomach should be hurting, but she can't will herself to care; the numbness that's taking over her body is welcomed after everything that's just happened.

_That'd probably be because you're freezing to death, no worries though._

_No; think positive!_

At least she has a lifejacket.

And she's laughing, letting water work its way into her mouth before another laugh shoves it out in a series of spurts and sprinkles. At least she made sure to tell everyone where she was going, so she wouldn't be reported missing. Now she'd just be reported lost at sea.

Somehow it's comforting.

She's not quite sure how but hopes maybe her parents felt this way before they died. There's not much she can do against a storm when water is filling her lungs and figures what's the point of freaking out before she dies. She can't really feel anything anymore, anyway.

_But Kristoff_, her mind urges.

No, she can't leave him this easily.

She prepares to battle against her consciousness, but before she even a has a chance, she is being pulled under, and her vision goes black.

* * *

The world is put back together in pieces; first the sound of ragged breathing hits her ears, and she struggles to open her eyes.

But she can't seem to just _move_.

_Okay, lets start this off slow. _

_Hearing? Check._

_Touch? _

She's certain that water is lapping at the edges of her body, but she is not submerged in it any longer. There are. . _hands? _They grasp at her arms and hip and leg, and really anything to find purchase on as she feels herself being dragged.

_Okkkaay. Check, I guess._

_Sight?_

It's a battle of wills, her eyes refusing to budge at first, but then she sees a gray sky overhead; there are a few rays of sunshine that signal the beginning of dawn.

She's tossed against the shore, her wet clothing slapping against the ground, and- _oh, there's the feeling to throw up again_.

Sand soars through the air and lands on her face as a figure flops onto the ground beside figure makes a noise of surprise-

_That sounds like a girl._

- and jumps up before Anna feels cloth being draped over her.

She opens her eyes, realizing she closed them after the vertigo, and looks up at the woman hovering over her.

The woman freezes as they make eye contact, before the woman tosses her head to the side, but Anna can still see blue orbs darting about, almost pondering to run off and escape.

Anna reaches out and grabs her wrist, causing the woman's eyes to snap back on her. Anna's chest tightens as she looks over the woman; she's freaking _gorgeous._

Damp, pale blonde hair frames an equally pale face that has freckles dancing over her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Her clothing is plastered against her like a second skin; the woman's thin, but not unpleasantly so.

"Wait."

And then it's silence.

They stare at each other, teal meeting blue, and her hands begin to feel clammy compared to the cool wrist she has captured.

Sirens break the uncomfortable quiet that had taken over, and the woman darts away from her grasp while she's distracted.

"I called an ambulance."

The woman gestures, and Anna's eyes follow to see a few prone figures across the shore. She realizes what happened with a start, simultaneously registering that a coat is falling from her shoulders and onto the ground between them.

Anna licks her lips, recoiling as she tastes salt and sand, "Did you- did you pull them out too?"

The wailing of sirens grows obnoxious as emergency vehicles start to pull onto the beach, drowning out any hope of response.

She turns back to the woman to see her halfway across the beach, her figure beginning to grow hazy.

_What the hell?_

A paramedic's on her in a few seconds flat, and she admits, if she was with some fatal injury, she'd be ecstatic.

But she's not.

She's just drenched, with a killer headache, and a woman, whom probably just saved her life, ran off before even offering her name.

She looks down, wishing she was home, and her eyes trail across the ground settling on a bundle of fabric.

It's light gray, acquiring her attention immediately, and she snatches it up. Clings to it.

"You forgot your coat."


End file.
